Tutoring and Demonstrating - Leading Discussions

I. Leading Discussions

In many areas of higher education, the main activity in small groups is discussion of a relatively informal and often speculative kind. Such discussions usually focus on issues, arguments, debate, personal opinion and response, and the exploration of diverse and often conflicting explanations of human experience. This form is a highly active learning experience for all participants and assumes that students clarify their thoughts by talking. It also happens to be an experience that many tutors find difficult to manage successfully.

Students are often more critical of tutorials than they are of lectures. The major cause of complaint usually comes down to the poor management of the group, especially the failure to encourage participation from all members. The monologue from the 'academic oracle' is totally out of place in discussion sessions. It seems to assume that worthwhile learning only takes place while the teacher is talking. But equally bad is the leaderless or unstructured group where students get to pool their ignorance.

Opting out of leadership is not an option for good teachers of small groups. Leading and managing productive group discussion is never as easy as it looks. Tutorials sometimes suffer because they are not given anywhere near the planning and preparation they deserve. Perhaps there is a tendency to be lulled into a casual approach by the relative informality of the tutorial. To maintain the benefits of informality, and to achieve worthwhile learning at the same time, demands not just a high level of interpersonal skills and concentration, but a particular attitude that focuses on students learning rather than teachers teaching.

Running a discussion requires the leader to shift roles constantly, from stage-setter of debate to instructor, from prober producing thoughtful responses to commentator summarising the issues. Defining and being alert to the changing needs of the group and educating them in the literal sense of the word - leading out - is teaching at its best. The key skills involved are watching, listening, questioning and summarising.

If you are having problems with these skills you might enlist the help of a critical friend. Sitting in with someone who has a reputation for outstanding small group teaching is often useful. Then invite that person along to watch you and to give feedback.

Facilitating participation

A common complaint of teaching staff is that students do not participate in discussion because they are not prepared. Before blaming the students it is important to check that they have been well briefed about the work and that the resources required for their contributions are available. Assuming that these things are in order, it is then important to check if the students are in fact unprepared or whether they are prepared but too anxious and inhibited to contribute. A quick anonymous quiz can sort this out. If it is true that the students regularly come unprepared, you can try some of the strategies described elsewhere in this guide, such as providing them with questions to focus their reading or linking preparation to assessment.

If the students are prepared but are still reluctant to participate, some of the following factors may be involved.

Factors that inhibit participation

From the student perspective, a number of factors prevent them from participating in group discussions, although many students these days have considerable experience of contributing to group discussion in secondary school. A theme that runs through the comments below is the need for clear ground rules. In Learning through small group discussion (1978), Jean Rudduck has provided a student's eye view of the problems of participating in small groups:
 

• Making a contribution. Even students who are confident speakers in other settings can be reduced to mumbling if they are 'not proficient in the language of the discipline'. By the time they have got their thoughts together the discussion has moved on or, more usually, back to the leader. Students need to be given the time and opportunity to come to grips with the discourse of the leader. Making the expectations abundantly clear is a big help. The linear nature of contributions can be an inhibitor. Waiting 20 minutes for the spotlight to fall on them can raise student anxiety. It is a good idea to give everyone the chance to make a brief contribution early on to get past the nervous stage.

• Understanding the conventions.Rudduck reports from videotape analysis how guarded students are about making moves. They resort to note-taking because it is safe. The task for the leader is to let them know what is acceptable and welcome in areas such as acknowledging confusion or misunderstanding, or interrupting to ask questions.

• Knowing enough to contribute.While students are often responsible for their own lack of preparation, it is sometimes a case of blaming the victim. A good group leader eliminates the obvious causes of student ignorance like the unavailability of reading. Other problems occur with the dominant knowledgeable student who is allowed to embarrass less confident students. The worst result of leader dominance and impatience in these circumstance is a conspiracy of silence from the group.

• Being assessed.This is a key factor inhibiting responses and requires skilful management. Rudduck points out that the discussion group ought to be a place where students feel they can take risks with ideas. Assessment can destroy a secure structure if handled badly. Again much of the anxiety can be reduced by careful briefing and definition of the tasks involved.

All these inhibitors have to be managed so that learning can be enhanced. Management problems are closely related to the style of the leader. Aside from the repressively formal group where there is fear of divergence, the group will contribute less when the tutor:
 

• Breaks the flow of discussion. For instance, to correct students constantly on points of detail. Suggestion: try keeping notes of minor confusion and allocate a regular time near the end of the session for clarification.

• Asks closed questions. This is just one question problem but it is one of the worst. See the section in chapter four on questioning for suggestions on variations and alternative strategies.

• Ignores responses. A cardinal sin. Reinforcing even the most tentative or trivial initial responses will set up a benign cycle for group participation. Not bothering to learn student names won't help. Ridicule, sarcasm and deriding previous student experience in the subject will guarantee non-participation.

• Shows impatience. It may be the hundredth time you have been through the exercise or debate but for the students it is the first. Trying to see the problem from their perspective makes an enormous difference to the attitude of the tutor.

• Is too formal. As with lectures, the answer is to develop a conversational style. Relax and try to be yourself. Student participation is also lowered when the teacher appears very knowledgeable. The solution is not to feign ignorance but to concentrate on defining problems rather than providing solutions. It helps to show that you are not infallible and that your curiosity is alive and well.

There are many ways of varying student activity to increase the effectiveness of discussions. None of these techniques is a substitute for the creative management of a group - listening to student responses, building on what they say, and seizing the teachable moment with enthusiasm. Most of the techniques involve breaking the group up for short problem-solving sessions. This reduces the anxiety of individuals being placed in the spotlight to give answers. It also encourages group cohesion. Try some of these:

• Buzz groups.These are simply mini-groups with set tasks, which are usually of a problem-solving type, but can include discussion of opinions on an issue. When the group is just forming it is best to get students to work in pairs at first then build up to groups of three or four.

• Snowballing.A variation of buzz groups that starts with individual work - reading a case study for example - and then moves to working in pairs with students comparing notes. The next stage is to form groups of four or five to prepare a report for presentation to the whole group.

One pitfall of mini-grouping is the possibility of lengthy, even boring 'report-back' sessions. You need to think creatively to avoid this: for example, ask for two important points from each group or ask groups only to add additional points as they report. At times, you can select one group's points to start a general discussion. Variety of approach is the key.

There are some constraints on the use of these techniques. Ideally you need some spare space and movable furniture, although it is still possible to organise without these if students are prepared to sit on floors or desk tops. The main difficulty is with managing time. Mini-group discussions do tend to take more time than general talk and teachers who wish to use them extensively often restructure class sessions to give themselves longer tutorials. You may not be in a position to do this. However, even in a one-hour tutorial, it is possible to use short, sharp exercises of ten minutes or so to stimulate student thinking and talking. The subsequent general discussion is likely to be livelier and more focused.

There are many references in which you will find more ideas for different ways of organising discussion, some of which are listed in the Reference section. Activities such as those outlined add variety but note that over reliance on them can make 'busy work' and may well distract from the main task of learning. Students can find them unhelpful if they are not used selectively and strategically. Personal enthusiasm, a love of the subject and active leadership are far and away the best qualities for making discussion groups a worthwhile experience for you and the students.

Ideas for tutorials

• Build up a summary of main points on a whiteboard or overhead projector as the session proceeds.

• Continually use examples to illustrate key issues and ideas. Think of analogies and practical examples that relate to students' own experiences and contemporary issues that help to illustrate key points.

• 'In other words ...'. Don't be shy about repeating yourself when you are explaining concepts or presenting information. Some redundancy is a helpful way to reinforce learning. Try rephrasing information or presenting ideas from an alternative angle.

• Ask students to draw concept maps. Concept maps are a simple graphical representation of the relationships between ideas and principles. They are an excellent way of encouraging students to take a wider view and to reflect on where ideas fit together; they help students to discover their areas of uncertainty for themselves. They are also a good diagnostic device for teachers, because they can help pin down misunderstandings. More information about concept mapping can be found in Fraser's Student-centred teaching: The development and use of conceptual frameworks(1996).

Students presenting seminar papers

Guiding group projects

Leading problem-solving sessions

Teaching in a laboratory or practical class

Problem-based learning

Clinical tutoring

Next chapter: Chapter 7: Assessment, feedback and support

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